"Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! I beseech..."
Glorified be Thy name, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Thy power that
hath encompassed all created things, and by Thy Sovereignty that hath
transcended the entire creation, and by Thy Word which was hidden in Thy
wisdom and whereby Thou didst create Thy heaven and Thy earth, both to
enable us to be steadfast in our love for Thee and in our obedience to Thy
pleasure, and to fix our gaze upon Thy face, and celebrate Thy glory.
Empower us, then, O my God, to spread abroad Thy signs among Thy
creatures, and to guard Thy Faith in Thy realm. Thou hast ever existed
independently of the mention of any of Thy creatures, and wilt remain as
Thou hast been for ever and ever.
In Thee I have placed my whole confidence, unto Thee I have turned my
face, to the cord of Thy loving providence I have clung, and towards the
shadow of Thy mercy I have hastened. Cast me not as one disappointed out
of Thy door, O my God, and withhold not from me Thy grace, for Thee alone
do I seek. No God is there beside Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most
Bountiful.
Praise be to Thee, O Thou Who art the Beloved of them that have known
Thee!
--Baha'u'llah
"O Thou Whose nearness is my wish, Whose..."
O Thou Whose nearness is my wish, Whose presence is my hope, Whose
remembrance is my desire, Whose court of glory is my goal, Whose abode is
my aim, Whose name is my healing, Whose love is the radiance of my heart,
Whose service is my highest aspiration! I beseech Thee by Thy Name,
through which Thou hast enabled them that have recognized Thee to soar to
the sublimest heights of the knowledge of Thee and empowered such as
devoutly worship Thee to ascend into the precincts of the court of Thy
holy favors, to aid me to turn my face towards Thy face, to fix mine eyes
upon Thee, and to speak of Thy glory.
I am the one, O my Lord, who hath forgotten all else but Thee, and turned
towards the Dayspring of Thy grace, who hath forsaken all save Thyself in
the hope of drawing nigh unto Thy court. Behold me, then, with mine eyes
lifted up towards the Seat that shineth with the splendors of the light of
Thy Face. Send down, then, upon me, O my Beloved, that which will enable
me to be steadfast in Thy Cause, so that the doubts of the infidels may
not hinder me from turning towards Thee.
Thou art, verily, the God of Power, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious,
the Almighty.
--Baha'u'llah
"O God, my God! I have turned in repentance..."
O God, my God! I have turned in repentance unto Thee, and verily Thou art
the Pardoner, the Compassionate.
O God, my God! I have returned to Thee, and verily Thou art the
Ever-Forgiving, the Gracious.
O God, my God! I have clung to the cord of Thy bounty, and with Thee is
the storehouse of all that is in heaven and earth.
O God, my God! I have hastened toward Thee, and verily Thou art the
Forgiver, the Lord of grace abounding.
O God, my God! I thirst for the celestial wine of Thy grace, and verily
Thou art the Giver, the Bountiful, the Gracious, the Almighty.
O God, my God! I testify that Thou hast revealed Thy Cause, fulfilled Thy
promise and sent down from the heaven of Thy grace that which hath drawn
unto Thee the hearts of Thy favored ones. Well is it with him that hath
held fast unto Thy firm cord and clung to the hem of Thy resplendent robe!
I ask Thee, O Lord of all being and King of the seen and unseen, by Thy
power, Thy majesty and Thy sovereignty, to grant that my name may be
recorded by Thy pen of glory among Thy devoted ones, them whom the scrolls
of the sinful hindered not from turning to the light of Thy countenance, O
prayer-hearing, prayer-answering God!
--Baha'u'llah
"Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech..."
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I beseech Thee by Him Who is Thy Most
Great Name, Who hath been sorely afflicted by such of Thy creatures as
have repudiated Thy truth, and Who hath been hemmed in by sorrows which no
tongue can describe, to grant that I may remember Thee and celebrate Thy
praise, in these days when all have turned away from Thy beauty, have
disputed with Thee, and turned away disdainfully from Him Who is the
Revealer of Thy Cause. None is there, O my Lord, to help Thee except Thine
own Self, and no power to succor Thee save Thine own power.
I entreat Thee to enable me to cleave steadfastly to Thy love and Thy
remembrance. This is, verily, within my power, and Thou art the One that
knoweth all that is in me. Thou, in truth, art knowing, apprised of all.
Deprive me not, O my Lord, of the splendors of the light of Thy face,
whose brightness hath illuminated the whole world. No God is there beside
Thee, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving.
--Baha'u'llah
"Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my Best Beloved!..."
Praise be to Thee, O Lord, my Best Beloved! Make me steadfast in Thy
Cause, and grant that I may be reckoned among those who have not violated
Thy Covenant nor followed the gods of their own idle fancy. Enable me,
then, to obtain a seat of truth in Thy presence, bestow upon me a token of
Thy mercy and let me join with such of Thy servants as shall have no fear
nor shall they be put to grief. Abandon me not to myself, O my Lord, nor
deprive me of recognizing Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine Own Self,
nor account me with such as have turned away from Thy holy presence.
Number me, O my God, with those who are privileged to fix their gaze upon
Thy Beauty and who take such delight therein that they would not exchange
a single moment thereof with the sovereignty of the kingdom of heavens and
earth or with the entire realm of creation. Have mercy on me, O Lord, in
these days when the peoples of Thine earth have erred grievously; supply
me then, O my God, with that which is good and seemly in Thine estimation.
Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the Gracious, the Bountiful, the
Ever-Forgiving.
Grant, O my God, that I may not be reckoned among those whose ears are
deaf, whose eyes are blind, whose tongues are speechless and whose hearts
have failed to comprehend. Deliver me, O Lord, from the fire of ignorance
and of selfish desire, suffer me to be admitted into the precincts of Thy
transcendent mercy and send down upon me that which Thou hast ordained for
Thy chosen ones. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest. Verily, Thou art
the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
--The Bab
"Praised and glorified art Thou, O God! Grant..."
Praised and glorified art Thou, O God! Grant that the day of attaining Thy
holy presence may be fast approaching. Cheer our hearts through the
potency of Thy love and good-pleasure, and bestow upon us steadfastness
that we may willingly submit to Thy Will and Thy Decree. Verily, Thy
knowledge embraceth all the things Thou hast created or wilt create, and
Thy celestial might transcendeth whatsoever Thou hast called or wilt call
into being. There is none to be worshiped but Thee, there is none to be
desired except Thee, there is none to be adored besides Thee and there is
naught to be loved save Thy good-pleasure.
Verily, Thou art the supreme Ruler, the Sovereign Truth, the Help in
Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
--The Bab
"O Lord my God! Assist Thy loved ones to be..."
O Lord my God! Assist Thy loved ones to be firm in Thy Faith, to walk in
Thy ways, to be steadfast in Thy Cause. Give them Thy grace to withstand
the onslaught of self and passion, to follow the light of divine guidance.
Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Self-Subsisting, the Bestower,
the Compassionate, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.
--'Abdu'l-Baha
"O Thou, my God! Who guidest the seeker to..."
O Thou, my God! Who guidest the seeker to the pathway that leadeth aright,
Who deliverest the lost and blinded soul out of the wastes of perdition,
Thou Who bestowest upon the sincere great bounties and favors, Who
guardest the frightened within Thine impregnable refuge, Who answerest,
from Thine all-highest horizon, the cry of those who cry out unto Thee.
Praised be Thou, O my Lord! Thou hast guided the distracted out of the
death of unbelief, and hast brought those who draw nigh unto Thee to the
journey's goal, and hast rejoiced the assured among Thy servants by
granting them their most cherished desires, and hast, from Thy Kingdom of
beauty, opened before the faces of those who yearn after Thee the gates of
reunion, and hast rescued them from the fire of deprivation and loss--so
that they hastened unto Thee and gained Thy presence, and arrived at Thy
welcoming door, and received of gifts an abundant share.
O my Lord, they thirsted, Thou didst lift to their parched lips the waters
of reunion. O Tender One, Bestowing One, Thou didst calm their pain with
the balm of Thy bounty and grace, and didst heal their ailments with the
sovereign medicine of Thy compassion. O Lord, make firm their feet on Thy
straight path, make wide for them the needle's eye, and cause them,
dressed in royal robes, to walk in glory for ever and ever.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Ever-Giving, the Precious, the Most
Bountiful. There is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Powerful, the
Exalted, the Victorious.
--'Abdu'l-Baha